Bi-Weekly Book Reviews for Ambitious Achievers

entreleadership

When I moved from Colorado to Texas at the beginning of September 2014, I had about $200 in my bank account, and wasn’t going to get paid a dime until the end of the month from the job I had just taken.

I remember walking down the aisle of Walmart in Temple, Texas and thinking to myself “If I buy supplies for PB&J I can eat that for a week for about $12.”

Dave Ramsey, the founder of Financial Peace University, starts his book, Entreleadership, with a similar situation that he found himself in during his early career, and from the first page of this book I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Entreleadership” is a word coined by Ramsey as the mash-up of “Entrepreneur” and “Leader.” He states that a leader is a proven force within an organization and can either get results herself or motivate others to excel. His definition of entrepreneur is one who is driven to strike out and try something that’s never been done before, one who has a compulsion to create. By taking strengths from each of these persons, Ramsey trains his teams to get results while looking for opportunities to innovate.

This book is easily one of the most comprehensive guides for small business owners I have read. Ramsey states on the cover that this book contains “practical business wisdom from the trenches,” and the content is curated to contain strategies that a business owner can use, TODAY.

I was recommended this book by a friend since she knew I am considering starting my own small business. After reading it, I would put this book near the top of any reading list for small business owners.

While planning this week’s video, I paused to think about some of the topics that this book covers, off the top of my head in about 30 seconds I compiled this list:

Technology Changes

Hiring

Firing

Cash on hand

Buying new facilities

Compensation plans

Personality styles in the workplace

Leadership vs management

Types of small business

Taxes

Selling styles

Mechanics of starting new business

Percentage of revenue to save for taxes

There are so many more topics covered in this book and ALL of them are backed up by personal stories from Ramsey’s companies.

Personally, from one quick time through the book, I can pinpoint multiple potholes that I’ll be avoiding while starting a new business later this year.

Ramsey writes in his wrap up that he tried to write a “different kind of business and leadership book.” This work is Ramsey’s personal playbook, and if you’re entrepreneurial or desire to lead well, I encourage you to view his results and take his advice.

Your personal reader, I’ll test the books in this series for you!

Jon DeLange is the owner of Jumpsix Marketing Grand Rapids and Director of Development at Lakeshore Pregnancy Center. Find him reviewing books on YouTube as "Why Should I Read That." Visit jondelange.com to keep in touch!